Rates of COVID-19 are steadily climbing back up, and several HBCUs have decided that masks won’t be enough to keep rates down. Grambling State University has officially declared that it will require COVID-19 vaccinations before students return. Learn more about the declaration in the story by Alex Onken at KSLA 12 News below.
Credit: KNOE
Students at Grambling State University will have to roll up their sleeves and get a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine to continue taking classes.
Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is due by Nov. 22, 2021, for all students planning to register for the Spring 2022 semester and terms moving forward.
GSU is a member of The University of Louisiana System, which previously requested that the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) upon full approval from the FDA to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the schedule of required immunizations for students at GSU.
That also applies to other UL System institutions. LDH granted this request.
“As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, my hope is that our students, faculty and staff are continuing to keep themselves and others safe,” said GSU President Rick Gallot, in a news release. “Because health and safety are the top priority and paramount to approaching a sense of normalcy, I strongly encourage all students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as possible.”
GSU students who are vaccinated on campus are eligible for a $100 gift card from the LDH and other incentives through GSU.
Free vaccinations are available on campus from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday in the T.H. Harris Auditorium. No appointment is necessary.
“The available vaccines help to prevent infection—lessening the spread of the virus, and provide remarkable protection against severe disease—reducing the strain on our healthcare infrastructure,” Gallot said. “To date, hundreds of millions of doses of the current COVID-19 vaccines have been administered and have proven to be safe and effective.”
A new Financial Literacy Institute is coming to Delaware State University thanks to a partnership between the HBCU and Schwab Advisor Services. Get the full story from the official DSU release below.
Credit: Delaware Public Media
Delaware State University announced the launch of a new Financial Literacy Institute (FLi) with support from Schwab Advisor Services in partnership with the Charles Schwab Foundation. The company has pledged a four-year grant to facilitate the creation of the new program, as well as the expansion of the Financial Planning curriculum and the renovation of the Financial Network Trading Room operated by the University’s College of Business.
“This partnership is exciting because the need to improve the financial planning and wealth management skills of our students is essential to our core mission of changing their life trajectories,” said University President Tony Allen. “It is potentially devastating to realize that families of color amass wealth at a rate seven times below that of white families, and that in the wake of COVID this gap is increasing. Our education of these young people has to include top-flight training in how to acquire, manage, and grow their wealth, whether they’re becoming teachers, scientists, or joining an independent advisory firm.”
“Anytime we can join with academia to bring more awareness to the Registered Investment Advisor profession and do our part in helping to create interest among students, we are all in,” said Bernie Clark, head of Schwab Advisor Services. “It is incredibly important that we build a pipeline of diverse and high-quality professionals for independent advisory firms to hire in the future, and we are thrilled with the efforts underway at Delaware State University that we believe will make that a reality.”
The partnership will support the College of Business in expanding its Financial Management programming for Business majors. The tools and resources provided by the new Financial Literacy Institute (FLi) will allow students to learn more about wealth management, build relationships with industry leaders, explore careers in the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) profession, and help foster community outreach. The University is currently in the process of converting its minor in Financial Planning into a full-fledged Financial Planning and Wealth Management degree concentration, “but we’ve not been able to offer the program at full potential yet,” said Dr. Nandita Das, Professor of Finance, who will play a key leadership role in FLi’s organization and development. “The infusion of Schwab’s expertise and support allows us to complete that project to the benefit of our students.”
“The Financial Literacy Institute will not just focus on young people while they are attending college,” emphasized Dr. Michael Casson, Dean of the College of Business. “We begin with programming and counseling to high school students and their families across our primary recruiting area in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Washington, DC, and New York City,” Casson said. “This engagement continues as new students move through the enrollment and financial aid process, then is interwoven into courses, workshops, certification, experiential learning, and degree offerings while they are here.”
Dr. Nandita Das., Associate Professor in the College of Business, said that faculty and the Schwab Financial Services will play the primary roles in the Financial Literacy Institute that will target high school and college students. Dr. Das spearheaded the development Del State’s partnership with the Charles Schwab Foundation.
“The support and education does not stop at graduation,” added Dr. Das. “We will be providing our alumni access to workshops and counseling focused on wealth management. What the Schwab support gives us is the resources to impact our students and alumni over the course of their lives, to become a consistent, sustaining resource. This is the magic of the multiple touchpoint approach.”
“A partnership of this significance wouldn’t be possible without strong faculty leaders like Dr. Das,” noted Dean Casson. “We will be depending on her and others to carry a huge amount of the load as we begin to spread out financial literacy education to high school students in four states and the District of Columbia.”
Allen stressed the importance of the high school outreach component, saying, “We’ve learned through experience with our own Early College High School that we’ve got to break down the artificial barriers between K-12 and higher education in order to engage these young people holistically, and start that process as early as possible.”
“What makes this partnership so innovative,” Casson noted, “is the active role that Schwab will play, especially in the critical foundation elements of high school outreach. With their support, our first objective is to begin training programs for 1,500 high school juniors and seniors across our catchment area, and our Charles Schwab FLi Champions will follow them into the University as new Freshmen.”
Delaware State University will collaborate to establish an advisory board of nonprofit, regulatory, and private sector organizations, as well as school districts and other higher-education institutes, to guide and promote the effort.
This year alone, Bluefield State College has had at least 2 record-breaking events that have made life on campus that much more exciting! For one, Bluefield State revived its football team, which hasn’t seen the field in 42 years. Students are back living on the campus for the first time in 52 years! The college has even had a spike in enrollment! Learn about what’s new at BSU in the college’s official release below.
During his recent State of the College Address, Bluefield State College President Robin Capehart highlighted the institution’s remarkable turnaround.
Bluefield State College Robin Capehart recently delivered the State of the College address to an in-person audience in the Hebert Gallery/Student Center and to a virtual audience online. Since Capehart’s arrival at BSC in 2019, the College has reversed a significant enrollment decline and is now the fastest growing public college in West Virginia.
New student housing and 13 new sports have been added, with BSC welcoming residential students to its campus this semester for the first time in 52 years. BSC is also celebrating the return of football to the campus this fall, following a 42-year absence.
The BSC President noted that the College’s financial condition has improved markedly since 2019, fund raising has grown substantially, and last week, the College welcomed the largest freshman class (597 students) in the school’s history. The BSC student body is much more diverse than it was three years ago, he observed, and the enrollment of minority and African-American students has risen from 3% three years ago to nearly 22% today.
“Over two years ago, we set sail on a new course, leaving behind on the shore—apathy, despair, and discouragement,” Capehart noted in his closing comments. “There’ll be plenty of intimidating storms and rough currents ahead—but we must move forward with courage an determination to take on these storms and advance toward a new horizon.”
The upcoming Central State University and Ohio State University game at OSU’s stadium is a big deal for both sports, and for HBCU-PWI relations extends far beyond football. Learn about the significance of an HBCU’s presence on Ohio State’s turf in the story by Holly Zachariah at The Columbus Dispatch below.
Adam Troy – the chief engagement officer of the Community of Caring Development Foundation seen here in 2020 – helped with the activities. (Credit: Joshua A. Bickell/Dispatch)
For the first time since 1995, a college football game not involving Ohio State will be played in Ohio Stadium as a pair of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) — Central State and Kentucky State — will compete in the Classic for Columbus.
But there is more that people can participate in and learn from.
Adam Troy — the chief engagement officer of the Community of Caring Development Foundation, the nonprofit arm of New Salem Baptist Church in North Linden, and an HBCU alumnus of Morehouse College in Atlanta — helped to get this all in place.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities events include job fair, drumline competition and marching bands
“Ohio is rich in HBCU culture with the nation’s oldest private, historically Black university-owned and operated by African Americans, Wilberforce University, and Central State University right down the road,” Troy wrote in a release.
Visitors will be able to learn about HBCUs, talk with job recruiters and, according to organizers, learn about “the unique role these institutions play in America’s educational, business, social, and cultural space.”
The job fair will also feature a drumline competition and marching bands.
Spokeswoman Karla Coleman said Thursday that more than 40 employers will be available.
“It’s more than just a football game and party,” Coleman said. “It’s an opportunity to allow the HBCUs to shine. These schools have been in the community and around for over a hundred years. And all too often people don’t even realize HBCUs are an option.”
In addition, there will be a panel discussion from 1:30 to 3 p.m. in the recruiting room at Ohio Stadium (enter through Gate 30) to learn about financial literacy and, specifically, focusing on buying a home. There also is a chance for someone to win $25,000 to help with that purchase.
“Financial literacy empowers consumers to make smart financial decisions by providing the knowledge and skills needed to manage money effectively and, thus, make the journey to homeownership a lot smoother and less stressful,” John Pace, the CEO for Classic for Columbus, wrote in a release.
Coleman reiterated though, how the weekend is about so much more, and how HBCUs produce leaders in politics, in the world of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), and in every aspect of our lives. This weekend is about showcasing all of that, she said.
“This is a ‘welcome home’ kind of event,” she said. “An event to highlight all that we can accomplish together.”
South Carolina State University alumnus Alexander Conyers is the university’s next interim president! It’s perfect timing, especially as SCSU celebrates 125 years! Get the full story from SCSU in the official release below.
The South Carolina State University Board of Trustees on Wednesday appointed Retired U.S. Army Col. Alexander Conyers as the University’s interim president.
Conyers, an SC State alumnus who joined his alma mater as vice president for strategic alliances and initiatives in May, had served as acting president since July 13.
“Since President Conyers’ appointment, he has proven himself to be a formidable leader as the university makes this very critical transition,” Board Chairman Rodney Jenkins said. “His focus has been keenly fixed on the success of our students.”
Jenkins pointed to positive images in news media of Conyers’ engagements with students, parents, faculty, staff and alumni. The chairman said elevating SC State’s image has fueled Conyers’ initiatives to increase enrollment, garner financial support, and achieve buy-in from various university constituents.
“I believe this decision positions Mr. Conyers as a leader the board stands behind, and entrusts to execute the university’s strategic vision, not just as a temporary placeholder; but as a leader who is committed to this journey for as long as the board sees fit,” Jenkins said.
The Board voted 12-1 to change Conyers’ status from acting to interim president.
Conyers thanked the Board for entrusting him with the university’s leadership and reiterated his commitment to helping more students succeed at SC State.
“Our trustees, faculty, staff, alumni and I share a common desire for SC State to reach new heights in serving our families,” Conyers said. “Having the Board’s support for our core mission makes all the difference in growing the next generation of scholars, leaders and influencers.”
Among Conyers’ first initiatives as acting president was to clear the past due account balances of some 2,500 continuing students using federal COVID-19 relief funds. The move aimed to lessen the financial burden for students who had been unable to return to SC State because of the financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It resulted in more the return of more than 320 students for the current semester, with additional returns expected in the 2022 Spring and Fall terms.
“We must do everything in our power to lessen the obstacles that stand in the way of enrolling students and supporting them while they are in our care,” said Conyers. “We are committed to challenging their minds and setting them on a course to lead fruitful lives.”
Jenkins said having Conyers in place as interim president would allow the Board of Trustees to embark on a thorough and integrous process of selecting a permanent president.
“Having an interim president is a sign of stability and permanency that quells the concerns of external constituents and potential supporters who would rather conduct business and form relationships with a leader they feel will ‘be there’ for the university in the short term and for the possible long haul,” Jenkins said.
Award-winning Howard University basketball coach Ty Grace is getting a well-deserved contract extension! Get the full story from Howard Athletics below!
Credit: Ty Grace Basketball Camp
Howard University is pleased to announce a four-year contract extension for head women’s basketball coach Ty Grace, the 2021-22 MEAC coach of the year.
“I would like to thank President Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick and Athletic Director Kery Davis for the opportunity to continue to lead this program,” Grace said. “We have accomplished some great things thus far, but we have more to do. I am very honored and humbled to work at Howard and coach these young women. I am thankful and excited about the years to come.”
The Bison won the 2020-21 MEAC Northern Division Title and qualified as the No. 1 seed in the 2021 U.S. Air Force Reserve MEAC Basketball Tournament.
“Coach Grace has established herself as one of the top coaches in the entire sport of women’s basketball. Her student-athletes have excelled on the court and in the classroom. The future for Lady Bison Basketball is incredibly bright under the stewardship of Coach Grace.” said Davis
Despite Covid-19 changing the landscape of Women’s Basketball, Howard’s women’s basketball program did not miss a beat. Grace squad ended the season with a .824 (14-3) winning percentage, the highest in school history; the 1997 team set the previous mark of .800.
In addition, the team brought home MEAC Player of the Year (first since 2016-17), Rookie of the Year (first since 2009-10), and Coach of the Year (first since 2001-02), a first for Howard University.
Grace is the fastest head coach to reach the 86 win (six seasons) mark in school history and is on pace to reach 100 games this season.
The women’s program has also showed out in the classroom; this past season, the squad averaged a 3.41 GPA, nine members qualified for the all-academic team, and over her six-seasons, the team produced 24 student-athletes made the All-Academic team(excluding the 2019-2020 season due to Covid-19).
Under Grace’s tutelage, several Bison collected postseason accolades aside from 2021 MEAC Player of the Year Jayla Thornton and Rookie of the Year Anzhane’ Hutton; Te’Shya Heslip was named 2016-17 Player of the Year, 17 players were named to the All-MEAC Teams since 2017.
The 2021-22 women’s basketball season tips off in November. Stay tuned to www.hubison.com for more up-to-date information.
There is so much talent on our HBCU campuses! There are dancers, actors, singers, and rappers, but we can’t forget about the visual artists! Recently, HBCU Buzz partnered with Monkeypaw Productions, Universal Pictures and several HBCU students to tell a different side of the CANDYMAN story.
At the center of the campaign is the CANDYMAN film, which is a spiritual sequel to the 1992 horror classic. Written and directed by Nia DaCosta, CANDYMAN shares more about the ominous figure than ever before. The story picks up in Chicago at the original Cabrini Green housing projects, which have now been gentrified. Not knowing what he was getting himself into, unsuspecting artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) who is down on his luck, gets more information than he bargained for when he speaks to a long-time resident William Burke (Colman Domingo). William opens Anthony’s eyes to the history of the block, and the sad story of the urban legend Candyman. His first thought is to bring the story out in his art, but it may have been his biggest mistake. His journey down the Candyman rabbit hole begs the question: are monsters born or created?
Explore the profound and poignant story of CANDYMAN with the 6 HBCU artists who creatively brought the film to life through their art below. Plus, see them featured here CANDYMAN IMPACT
Kendall Robinson | Howard University
Kendall Robinson is a leader on campus at Howard University, carrying her passion for art in all she does. The Painting major and member of Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority Inc. currently leads as the president of the Fine Arts student council.
Mural Name: Metamorphosis
Location: The Blackburn Center at Howard University
Artwork Description: “The hive represents community, shared experiences, the boxes that society puts us in, the boxes that we put ourselves in as Black people in America,” said Robinson. “The portrait with multiple layers also represents the different faces or personas Black people have to put on to maneuver through the world. The bees represent achievements of the Black community, our contributions to society and members of our village that motivate us and keep us grounded.”
Chloe Williams | Norfolk State University
Chloe Williams is a Fine Arts major at Norfolk State University who loves to see art being appreciated. Although she is social media free, she enjoys working at an art gallery, and has previously worked with 2 professional artists on mural projects in the past.
Mural Name: Transference
Location: The lobby of the E.L. Hamm Fine Arts Building at Norfolk State University Artwork Description: She was inspired by “the backstories of both, Nia DaCosta’s Candyman and Clive Barker’s Candyman. The two stories merging, shines light on how trauma is passed down from generation to generation in the African American community.”
April Lacey | Fisk University
April Lacey is a Fine Art major with an emphasis in painting at Fisk University. She is not only a member of the Phi ETA Sigma National Honors Society, but will also serve as a Senator representing the arts community on campus for Fisk’s 2021-2022 Senate. With her artwork, the junior shared just how sweet and sour the story of Candyman can truly be.
Mural Name: Inner City Fright
Location: Fisk University’s Art Gallery
Artwork Description: “My candyman mural, Inner City Fright, was inspired by my hometown – Chicago. Cabrini Green was a public housing project that played a part in the division that existed between both, the white & Black & the poor & wealthy. Although the project no longer exists, the segregation does. Those same dehumanizing narratives that were placed on the residents of Cabrini Green are still placed upon the remaining Black people who stay in the inner city.”
Donielle Pankey | Tennessee State University
Donielle Pankey is a Studio Art major at Tennessee State University with a penchant for pencil, black and white, and watercolor art. As a determined student on campus, she also is a member of Phi Eta Sigma National Honors Society, the National Society of Leadership and Success, and TSU’s Honors College Program.
Mural Name: Everlasting Pain
Location: The Floyd-Payne Campus Center at Tennessee State University
Artwork Description: “The concept of my mural is about how trauma in life can have a lifetime effect on us. Therefore, we are carrying that weight and pain on ourselves to the point where our pain becomes our truth.”
Ja’Marcus Willis | Grambling State University
Ja’Marcus Willis is a Grambling State University junior who majors in Visual and Performing Arts with a minor in Psychology. After finishing his art piece, the artist and entrepreneur from Louisiana shared his plan to take his artistic talents to the National Guard’s ROTC program.
Mural Name: Candyman Vision Perspective
Location: The Grambling State University Bookstore
Artwork Description: “My mural is very dynamic and creative. It is an artwork that I have been very dedicated to completing. It is a Bumblebee viewing a mirror and what is being reflected is my own vision of what Candyman the movie is as a whole.”
Haley Wilson | Florida A&M University
Florida A&M University student Haley Wilson is a fine arts major and English literature minor. A lover of art, Haley has showcased her art in exhibitions, and performed in theater settings and through a spoken word poetry group.
Mural Name: The Hive
Location: Foster-Tanner Fine Arts Center East on FAMU’s campus
Artwork Description: “This mural is a representation of the similarities amongst the different caricatures portrayed about Candyman and the aggression a lot of black youth experience. Candyman’s coat and city scape are made up of a collage while the background faces have different methods of acrylic paint.”
See what these students saw when you catch the nail-biting thriller CANDYMAN for yourself in theaters everywhere this Friday August 27th!
$2 million is headed to HBCUs thanks to Beyoncé, JAY-Z, Tiffany & Co. as part of their new partnership. Get the full story about the ABOUT LOVE film that was part of the announcement and more from Biba Adams at The Grio below.
Beyoncé and JAY-Z for the Tiffany & Co. fall 2021 ABOUT LOVE campaign, shot by Mason Poole
The Carters broke the internet again late Sunday night when new photos from their 2021 “ABOUT LOVE” campaign for Tiffany & Co were released.
The new photos show the power couple in several poses. In one, Beyoncé is standing while husband Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter gazes at her while a painting from Jean-Michel Basquiat‘s private collection called Equals Pi — reimagined in signature Tiffany Blue — hangs on a wall behind them.
“Beyoncé and Jay-Z are the epitome of the modern love story,” Alexandre Arnault, Tiffany & Co. EVP of product and communications, said in a statement to People magazine. “As a brand that has always stood for love, strength and self-expression, we could not think of a more iconic couple that better represents Tiffany’s values. We are honored to have the Carters as a part of the Tiffany family.”
In the campaign, shot by photographer Mason Poole, Beyoncé models the iconic Tiffany Yellow Diamond, only the fourth person to wear the iconic necklace. The last person to wear it was Lady Gaga to the Academy Awards in 2019.
The stone is 128.54 carats and is said to be priceless, discovered over 140 years ago in South Africa by Charles Lewis Tiffany, the co-founder of the iconic jewelry brand. It is set in a necklace and surrounded by over 100 carats of white diamonds.
In the campaign, Jay-Z wears Jean Schlumberger‘s legendary Bird on a Rock brooch, only it’s reconstructed as a pair of one-of-a-kind cuff links.
Also to be spotlighted in the Tiffany print campaign and short film will be a 22-carat yellow diamond ring, a 15.02-carat emerald-cut diamond ring sourced from Botswana and an 18-carat yellow and rose gold bracelet.
The short film, directed by Emmanuel Adjei, will feature Beyoncé’s rendition of “Moon River” and is yet to be released.
As part of the Carters’ partnership with Tiffany & Co., the brand has committed $2 million toward internship and scholarship programs for historically Black colleges and universities.
In November, when Beyoncé teamed up with Peloton to license her music to the popular fitness company, she also pledged her support to HBCU students, offering two-year digital memberships to the Peloton app. At the time, she said she was “proud to celebrate the students at HBCUs with this donation, to encourage them to find and embrace their own wellness regimens.”
The pop icon’s 2019 concert film, Homecoming, was also a celebration of HBCU culture. Its music director, Derek Dixie, was nominated for an Emmy award for outstanding music direction.
There are so many former HBCU students who have the potential for success, but just need a little support to make it the rest of the way. As a solution, Morehouse College recently created a program to help those who never finished their bachelor’s degree finally cross the finish line— online!
With the new Morehouse Online program, Morehouse is empowering Black men across the nation to embark on the path to finishing their degrees and unlock the extensive Morehouse network and reach their full potential. The online customizable program has two degree options available now, with more to come!
B.A. in Business Administration
Morehouse is offering a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a management concentration. The program will lay the foundation for a strong understanding of business, help you creatively problem-solve, manage teams and projects, build ethical leadership skills, and be innovative.
B.S. in Computer Science
Morehouse is offering the keys to unlock the high-demand field of technology with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Gain marketable skills in areas such as computer systems, programming languages, software engineering, artificial intelligence, and databases.
On top of these, even more degree programs are on the way!
Key benefits of the online program include face-to-face classes through Zoom, an immersive online platform, Interactive and collaborative coursework, and dedicated support from advisors and mentors. If you are a transfer student or adult learner who is motivated to complete their college degrees and join a legacy of distinguished Morehouse Men, request more information today! 26 previous college degree credits must be approved. As an online student, you will be immersed in a community designed to make your voice heard and gain a life-changing academic experience right on your laptop or mobile device.
Applications are now open, and we encourage you to apply to the January 2022 Cohort! The early priority deadline is September 29th, while the priority deadline is October 27th. Click here for more information.
The Virginia Union University football fans, students, family members, and more are grieving the life of Quandarius “Quin” Wilburn, yet they are also reflecting on a life well-lived. Learn more about the fallen football player from the Augusta Chronicle story by Parish Howard below.
Quandarius “Quin” Wilburn (Credit: Submitted to the Augusta Chronicle)
For Quandarius “Quin” Wilburn, it all ended just when it felt like it was beginning.
In February, as a Jefferson County High School senior, he signed a scholarship to play football at Virginia Union University where he planned to earn a degree in cyber security that would help him take care of his mother and little sisters.
In June, he graduated as a JCHS honor student and weeks later moved to Richmond, Virginia to chase his dream.
In early August, Quin collapsed on that college’s football field during conditioning drills. He was pronounced dead a short time later.
In the days since, his family and friends have repeatedly asked why as they wrestle with their grief and seek to honor the life of a star that fell too soon.
Best friend was gone
Ja’kobe “Kobe” Heggs has been one of Quin’s best friends since childhood. They played recreation ball together and later were both on JCHS Warriors’ defensive squad when their senior season ended one game away from a championship bout.
The first time Quin spoke to VUU’s head coach and was offered a scholarship, Kobe was there. They were at Cracker Barrel when Quin’s phone rang.
“He was smiling from ear to ear,” Kobe said.
Quin Wilburn (left) and Kobe Heggs (right) (Credit: Submitted to the Augusta Chronicle)
He and Quin each had offers from other colleges, but Quin believed Virginia Union was the place they needed to be.
“He talked to me about going with him,” Kobe said. “At the time, I didn’t want to. It’s a long way from home. But I weighed the options and one day just thought, why not.”
He had Quin call the VUU coach and in June, Kobe joined the team as a preferred walk on. The two were roommates.
For the first few weeks they attended private workouts, explored campus and dreamed about what their lives would become.
“We were planning to stay here for a couple of years and then transfer to a Division 1 school where we could try to get a shot at the NFL,” Kobe said. “It was fun. We were just starting to enjoy college.”
Fall camp and their first days of conditioning as a team began Aug. 7. The next morning, Sunday, Aug. 8, Quin and Kobe joined the other players and coaching staff for breakfast and a church service on the lawn.
“I guess they were having it outside because of COVID,” Kobe said. “It was hot. The church people were passing out water bottles.”
After the service. the team, still in shorts as they were not to don their equipment until Monday, filed into Hovey Stadium to run drills.
“They had us split up into different groups,” Kobe said. “I had just finished running a lap and I looked back and him and couple other guys were together. We all ran on the same whistle and we were waiting on them to get finished. That’s when I saw him fall.”
At first Kobe did not think it was serious. He watched as they moved Quin to the sideline and then, minutes later, started performing CPR.
“That’s when I knew it was bad,” he said.
Quin was taken by ambulance to VCU Medical Center.
In a team meeting around 6 p.m., they were told that Quin was stabilized, Kobe said. Then, in another meeting around 9:45 p.m., they broke the news that his best friend was gone.
“Like an hour later I came back to the room and the people who are the head of the dorm had already packed his stuff up,” Kobe said a couple of days after Quin’s funeral. “I was in shock I couldn’t believe it. It’s been hard (without him). We basically lived our whole lives together. He meant a lot to me. He was like my real brother and now I have to adapt to living life without him.”
‘He was perfect’
“I know that there’s no such thing as perfect, but he was perfect,” Quin’s mother, Kenyada, said between convulsive sobs. “He was like an angel walking on earth. He was sweet. He was loving. He was caring. He was intelligent. I never heard him raise his voice. I never even saw him angry.”
Kenyada, Keke to her friends, said that she never wanted him to go so far away to school. She begged him not to go. But he told her that it was his dream school, that everything was there, the academics and the athletics, everything he needed to pave his own road to a future that would change all of their lives.
Quin Wilburn and his mother Kenyada Wilburn on the Jefferson County High School Football Field (Credit: Submitted to the Augusta Chronicle)
“He said, ‘Mama, that’s just the best option. I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do to take care of you and the kids and that is God’s plan, for me to go.’” Kenyada recalls. “He wanted what was best for us.”
His mother said that in the few weeks he was at school, they made time to text and video chat every day. The last time they spoke was the Saturday before he died. She had called him several times before he finally called her back and told her that he had been in team meetings. She wanted him to come home for the weekend, but he told her he could not because practices were just getting started and they were too busy.
Letting him go
In the week after his death, the people who knew Quin have honored him at memorial services where they talked about this strong, quiet, hard-working young man and the impact he had on their lives. During a prayer vigil at the recreation department football field near his mom’s apartment in Wadley, around 100 people gathered. They released blue and star-shaped balloons to try to find a way to let Quin go with them.
“Quin was one of the best young men that this community could produce,” said Mayor Harold Moore who also spoke about their own special relationship as Quin’s godfather.
At the funeral, Saturday, Aug. 14, Moore told more stories about Quin and how much he meant to Moore’s own boys, how Quin served as a peacemaker between them and helped teach his oldest how to be a friend.
“Everybody loved Quin,” Moore said. “The first thing I noticed about Quin was how patient he was … he balanced our boys.”
Moore called him “one of the most respectful young men who ever lived.”
Around 100 area people gathered to release balloons in memory of Quin Wilburn. (Credit: Carol McLeod)
A horse-drawn hearse carried Quin’s casket to the front doors of Jefferson County High School and his funeral was held in the gym where the bleachers were filled with hundreds of people who knew him.
Quin’s short life was called a “blueprint for success.” His principal, his family, his coaches, they all talked about his dedication on and off the football field; how he worked at whatever obstacle was put in front of him until he conquered it.
“If there is one lesson I wish people would learn from Quin, he didn’t react to adverse situations, he responded to them,” said Head Football Coach JB Arnold. “The difference being that he took his time, he thought about it and he gave a great answer.”
Dr. Alvin Parker, Virginia Union’s head football coach, said that after watching Quin’s films and reviewing his transcripts and then hearing about his character, he originally thought the young man might be “too good for us.”
Quin was a star on the field and off it. During his senior season at defensive end he had 42 tackles, 8 sacks and 2 punt block
During their entire first conversation, while Kobe sat across from Quin at that Cracker Barrel, Parker relayed that Quin only ever said two things: yes, sir and no, sir.
“And after he signed, he immediately called to see if he could secure a place for his friend Kobe,” Parker said. “He was selfless.”
Dr. Hakim Lucas, President and CEO of Virginia Union also spoke at the funeral.
“Thank you for all you have done to shape a great Black man,” Lucas told the family, the school, the community. “Black men are not respected as they should be. They are not valued. They are portrayed in many different ways, but not Quin. He represented the best of you and we are here to stand and celebrate him.”
During the service Lucas presented Kenyada with an honorary bachelor of science degree for her son. He also announced that Kobe’s college bills would be paid and that if Quin’s sisters, Aliyha, 17, and Ivoray, 2, were interested, full scholarships to Virginia Union University would be offered to both of them.
It means everything
In the week after the funeral, Quin’s uncle Damien Wilburn said that even though Quin loved VUU, he could not imagine being comfortable sending his nieces back to there.
“When he was first born, I was a child myself, and I remember holding him in my arms,” he said. Damien was 13 years old at the time. “He didn’t really have a male role model in his life. I grew up without one in mine and I decided then that I was going to be his. I didn’t want him to go through what I went through so I was with him every step of the way.”
He spent as much time with his nephew as he could. He coached him in football when he was little and when Quin showed interest in getting better, Damien converted a room in his home to a gym for the boy. Quin worked with him renting inflatables and with another uncle at his vault service.
Although Kenyada would not take his money, Damien said Quin always offered some of what he earned to his mother.
“I had this old Ford Mustang that was sitting up (not running),” Damien said. “He knew he was going to college and he wanted to save money to fix it up so his sister could drive back and forth to school and to and from. He did things out of the ordinary for his sisters and his mama. He took responsibility for them. He didn’t need the money, but he wanted to make things easier on them.”
He remembers Quin getting the scholarship to VUU and how happy he was about it.
“Just when everything was starting and he was getting on the road to living his dreams, it ended,” Damien said. “I think about him all the time and it brings tears to my eyes.”
The family is awaiting autopsy results as no official cause of death has yet been determined.
“I know he had physicals every year that said he was a 100 percent healthy kid,” Damien said. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Damien’s birthday was July 19 and Quin sent him a text that day.
“Happy birthday, Unc. I love you and I appreciate everything you do for me in making me who I am today,” the text reads.
“That text is keeping me going,” Damien said. “It means everything.”
One family bed
Sandra Nelson, Quin’s grandmother, said that Quin’s loss has left a void in their lives that they will never be able to fill.
She said she knew that Kenyada did not want Quin to go that far away from the family and so she called the coaches herself before he moved. She asked them to look after him like he was their own child, she said.
“Quin never had any health conditions that we knew of,” she said. “His physicals always came back good.”
And that is why she said that she has hired lawyers and investigators to help the family find out what exactly happened to Quin.
Since he died, she and her daughter and Quin’s little sisters have slept together in the same bed.
“We talk about Quin and pray until we fall asleep,” she said. “The other day, Ivoray had been crying all day and asking for Quin. Then about 5:45 that morning we heard somebody laughing and talking and going on. We looked and Ivoray was still asleep, talking in her sleep. Quin used to get up and play with her every morning before school. I told Keke that was Quin playing with her again. Her angel had come to her.”
James W. Loewen, author of the national best-seller “Lies My Teacher Told Me,” has passed away at age 79. In the past Loewen had shared that while teaching at Tougaloo College, students opened his eyes to just how white-washed American history lessons in classrooms really were. His concern for misrepresentations of historical events such as the Black experience in the South and the Vietnam War fueled his career as an author. Learn more about the eye-opening story in the article by Hillel Italie at News4Jax below.
Credit: Almeida/The New York Times
James W. Loewen, whose million-selling “Lies My Teacher Told Me” books challenged traditional ideas and knowledge on everything from Thanksgiving to the Iraq War, has died. He was 79.
Loewen’s publisher, New Press, announced that the author died Thursday at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. A professor emeritus at the University of Vermont who lived in Washington, D.C., he had been diagnosed two years ago with Stage IV bladder cancer, enough time for him to post “Notes toward an obituary” on his website.
“Telling the truth about the past helps cause justice in the present,” was his guiding principle, he wrote. “Achieving justice in the present helps us tell the truth about the past.”
Loewen’s “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong” was published in 1995 and became a favorite of students and former students as it challenged what Loewen considered a white, Eurocentric view of the past and the stale prose and bland presentations of classroom books.
He based his findings on his research while on fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution, where he spent two years looking through textbooks. He gave his chapters such headlines as “The Truth About the First Thanksgiving,” “Gone With the Wind: The Invisibility of American Racism in American Textbooks” and “See No Evil: Choosing Not to Look at the War in Vietnam.”
Loewen prided himself on pointing out the socialist beliefs of Helen Keller or the diversity of American Indian culture. He chastised textbook authors for ignoring the history of labor unions and leaving students with the impression that the mistreatment of workers was something “that happened long ago, like slavery, and that, like slavery, was corrected long ago.”
In a 2018 interview with NPR, he said that inspiration for “Lies My Teacher Told Me” came while he was teaching at the historically Black Tougaloo College in Mississippi, and asked his students for their thoughts on Reconstruction.
“And what happened to me was an ‘A-ha’ experience, although you might better consider it an ‘Oh-no’ experience: 16 out of my 17 students said, ‘Well, Reconstruction was the period right after the Civil War when Blacks took over the government of the Southern states. But they were too soon out of slavery and so they screwed up and white folks had to take control again.’
“My little heart sank.”
Credit: Amazon
Loewen’s book won the American Book Award and was sometimes likened to Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History” as an alternate text for progressives. A Publishers Weekly review called “Lies My Teacher Told Me” a “politically correct critique of 12 American history textbooks” that was “sure to please liberals and infuriate conservatives.”
He continued the series with “Lies My Teacher Told Me About Christopher Columbus,” “Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong” and “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Young Readers’ Edition” and revised the original work in 2018, during the Donald Trump administration. His other books included “Teaching What Really Happened,” “The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White” and the memoir “Up a Creek, With a Paddle.” The New Press will publish a graphic edition in 2023 of “Lies My Teacher Told Me,” which Loewen had been working on with artist Nate Powell, who had collaborated with Rep. John Lewis on his acclaimed “March” graphic trilogy.
Loewen is survived by his second wife, Susan Robertson Loewen; children Nick Loewen and Lucy Loewen McMurrer; four grandchildren and his sister, Mary Cavalier.
“Fathering was his happiest role,” Loewen wrote in his prepared obituary.
He was born in Decatur, Illinois, his father a doctor and his mother a teacher and librarian. While studying sociology at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, during the height of the civil rights movement, he spent the early part of 1963 auditing courses at Mississippi State University, while also visiting Tougaloo College and the Tuskegee Institute.
“He enjoyed all three Southern colleges but felt a particular kinship with Tougaloo, where students actually bought and read books not assigned them in courses, a rarity at MSU,” Loewen wrote on his website.
Before establishing himself as an author, Loewen co-wrote a textbook which helped lead to a legal battle that anticipated current debates over how race should be taught. In 1974, he and Dr. Charles Sallis published “Mississippi: Conflict and Change,” an intended corrective to what they saw as the racially biased information that his Tougaloo students had been assigned for a required 9th grade course on the state’s history.
The book won the Lillian Smith Award for nonfiction, presented by the Southern Regional Council, but officials in Mississippi voted to reject it for classroom use, alleging that “Mississippi: Conflict and Change” devoted too much time to Black history. Loewen and others sued. In 1980, U.S. District Court Judge Orma Smith ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor and ordered the book placed on the “approved list.”
Florida A&M University Rattler fans can all rejoice after the university announced today that it has become the first HBCU with an in-house audio network. The network will be helpful for those who want to stay abreast on Rattler games, coaches’ shows, and other content. Learn more about the big move in the official FAMU release below.
Florida A&M Athletics Department announced on August 23, 2021, a new partnership with Peak Sports MGMT to create the Rattler Sports Network. This online audio network will broadcast Rattler games, coaches’ shows, and other content.
“We are excited to have an in-house platform that will allow us to broadcast Florida A&M University athletic content to Rattler fans, alumni, prospective students, and student-athletes around the globe.,” said Florida A&M VP/Director of Athletics, Kortne Gosha. “Peak Sports has developed a turnkey solution that will also allow us to further maximize our multimedia rights.”
Florida A&M University Athletics becomes the 1st HBCU with an in-house audio network.
Florida A&M Deputy Director of Athletics & Chief of Staff Keith McCluney states:
“The team at Peak Sports has hit the ground running, and this expansion of our relationship was a natural fit. We understand that the demand for Florida A&M Athletics content is greater than just Tallahassee. The Rattler Sports Network will bring Florida A&M Athletics content to more consumers.”
Peak Sports will also manage and sell all sponsorship inventory for the Rattler Sports Network.
“Establishing a historic audio network partnership with Florida A&M deepens our commitment to bring significant value to the student-athletes and Florida A&M campus,” said Ryan Holloway, President Peak Sports MGMT.
“As we expand our presence and investment in the audio network space nationally, providing a platform to showcase the wonderful things happening at FAMU brings our team great joy,” said Justin Parks, Director of Special Projects Peak Sports MGMT.
The agreement between Florida A&M and Peak Sports, which is for five years, gives Florida A&M Athletics 24/7 online audio airwaves, hardware, and production support.
The first broadcast on the Rattler Sports Network will be the Football Coach’s Show with head coach Willie Simmons on Monday, August 30 at 7 PM EST, followed by a live broadcast of the Orange Blossom Classic on September 5.
The Coaches Show Willie Simmons Live, presented by Hyatt House, will take place on Mondays at 7:00 PM at the Hyatt House Tallahassee Capitol – University. Fans are welcomed to visit and watch in person.
Each week Coach Simmons will join Rattler football play-by-play caller Mike Thomas as they discuss Rattler football. Different student-athletes and assistant coaches will join them.
It’s official: JR Smith is now an HBCU student-athlete at North Carolina A&T State University! Get the full story on the 35-year-old basketball star’s exciting sport change and more in the story rom East L. Dockery at The Undefeated.
Credit: Golf Digest
“It was probably one of the most exciting feelings I’ve had in a while,” Smith, 35, who retired from the NBA after winning his second championship in 2020, told The Undefeated in an exclusive interview. “I really didn’t know how it was gonna go. I hear so much about the NCAA all the time how they’re doing this, and they don’t know what they want to do with that, but to be able to actually call myself a student-athlete is a great feeling.”
JR Smith’s dreams of becoming a student-athlete have now come true. He was joyful Monday talking about being cleared by the NCAA to play golf for North Carolina A&T State University.
Smith has already enrolled as a student at the university and is studying to receive a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies. He’s enjoying his time being a true college freshman.
“My favorite class I think right now in my life was African studies is liberal studies,” Smith said. “We’ve had discussions and introductions and I did my first PowerPoint yesterday. My schedule is pretty open, because my classes are online. So, I should get due dates, and I gotta get to work and figure it out.”
N.C. A&T’s liberal studies curriculum is ranked second out of the top 10 programs at historically Black colleges and universities. This opportunity was no small decision for Smith, and he has big goals as to how he wants to use his degree.
One of my biggest goals is to get more kids into golf,” Smith said. “I would love to be able to teach them educational things about life as well because I’m very passionate about mentorships. At the end of the day, my goal is probably to create almost like a STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] school, but around golf for kids. I got four girls myself, and they started to pick up the game. They really love it. So that would be fun.”
One of the main influences in Smith’s decision to attend college came from a conversation he had with former NBA star Ray Allen. “I was asking him what does he do all day with being retired and stuff like that,” Smith said. “He said the challenge for him is to go back and challenge his mind, challenge his courage if he can actually do it and maintain it. And he’s actually working with his master’s now. So, it was very inspirational.”
Credit: Ashley Landis
Smith attended high school in New Jersey and sports was his main focus, so academics were a blur to him. “I didn’t really take it serious,” Smith said. “But now I’m fortunate because I get to go back when I want to go back and it’s all on me. Nobody is making me go to class. Being able to attack the classroom with a new mindset is a really beneficial thing for me because I actually get to be receptive to the information that I’m receiving.”
N.C. A&T golf coach Richard Watkins said Smith has been criticized for taking away another athlete’s spot on the golf team and possibly taking a scholarship. But Watkins said Smith is not on scholarship, is paying his own way in school and the only thing asked for was an opportunity to try out.
A 6-foot-6 guard, Smith had committed to play basketball at the University of North Carolina for Coach Roy Williams, but he chose to enter the 2004 NBA draft and was selected by the New Orleans Hornets. Smith retired after winning the championship with the Los Angeles Lakers. He won his first ring with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015, both times with teammate LeBron James.
Outside of academics, Smith has big goals that he would like to achieve.
“By time my senior year, I want to be All-American,” Smith said. “I want to be one of those guys who, you know, people look up to, as a headliner for tournaments when people come to play. One of my biggest goals is to continuously try to recruit and help get people here who have the talent and capabilities to actually, you know, keep going.”
It’s been quite an experience for Smith so far. In early August, he played in the Wyndham Championship Pro-Am, where he was able to compete alongside future teammate Christyn Carr.
“It was amazing,” said Smith. “Christyn was one of the first teammates I met and to actually watch her play was amazing. I played with Rickie [Fowler] before. I played with PGA pros before. But to actually watch her play, how she hits the ball and play with such precision. Talking about her swing thoughts. And what she goes through is, it was more educational watching her than watching when I was watching the pros.”
“Athletic competition at very high levels is an earned privilege. If you don’t earn it, you don’t get to do it. And that’s in an 18-year-old’s case, or 35-year-old’s case. If you don’t earn it, it’s not just granted to you. And from a coaching standpoint, me and J already had this discussion,” said Watkins. “There’s only two ways for a team to get better. Even the players that they have, have to improve, or coach has to go out and get better players. So, he’s not being given a spot because he’s JR Smith.”
Smith confirmed that he lives in Greensboro and is looking for a place that fits just right. “I want to be on a golf course, but at the same time, I want to live in more of a dorm status or apartment, so I feel like I’m in college, as opposed to having some house that I was in for four or five years, like an MBA or something. So, yeah, near people to have more intimacy.”
Overall, Smith has been enjoying his time at N.C. A&T and the Aggie community is very happy to have him.
“Everybody’s been really welcoming. Some of the students were still shocked thinking they weren’t gonna see me or wasn’t expecting to see me. So, it’s been really great. Because at the end of the day, I want to do better at school as well as on the golf course. And I’m pretty sure a lot of the students around here feel like that. So as long as I can keep inspiring them, and I’m not dragging them down or pulling them back and keep pushing them up, then I’m doing what I’m supposed to do.”
HE’S EARNED HIS WAY ONTO THE TEAM
“He’s on the team,” said Brian Holloway, associate athletic director for communications at N.C. A&T, having gotten NCAA clearance on Aug. 20.
Watkins said it’s important to note that Smith was treated as any regular student-athlete throughout this process and that his arrival has had no negative impact on the Aggies golf team.
“Having him on the team is just like adding any other top-quality recruit. And just like any other recruit coming in, they’re looking for a spot. And they want to take your spot and your job is to not let him, so that internal competition is going to make for a better and stronger program,” said Watkins. “So, not just because his name is JR Smith, his golf game is going to make our team better, because it’s going to improve the level of internal competition.”
Smith’s journey to become a student-athlete was no smooth sailing, said Watkins.
“The first phone call came from CJ Paul, Chris Paul’s brother,” Watkins said. “He told me, ‘I want to introduce you to somebody. Somebody, you know, wants to walk on.’
“I just simply told him that three things, as a head coach, that were immediate concerns: No. 1, could we get him eligible? No. 2, could we establish his amateur status? No. 3, can he help my golf team be a better team? And, you know, if, if he can’t help us be better, just like anybody else, I’m not interested in you. If you can help us be a better team, then we can talk. But if you can’t help our program, be better in competition, then I’m not interested.”
Smith has played frequently while in Greensboro and has shown promise to his teammates, and they attest that he can help contribute to making the Aggies golf team better.
Carr, 21, is a senior nursing student at N.C. A&T and is a member of the Aggies women’s golf team. Carr observed Smith during the Wyndham Pro-Am and saw the skills that he had to offer.
“He’s such a really, really down-to-earth person, very humble and he loves golf. You can tell and he’s gonna work really, really hard at it,” Carr said. “He already has so much discipline from playing in the NBA. So, I think that’ll be able to help us all just to see how hard he works and to be able to push us.”
Golf is not just a hobby for Smith but something he takes seriously, and his teammates can see that as well. “He’s on a golf course, all day, every day,” Carr said. “If he’s not in class, he’s on the golf course.”
There have been talks about Smith’s ability to perform with a 5 handicap. However, that does not mean much to Watkins.
“That number to me in terms of collegiate competition, that number to me is fairly irrelevant,” Watkins stated. “Because in most cases, I don’t know under the conditions in which that handicap was established.”
The more important things to focus on are Smith’s ability to play and which skill set he specifically brings to the game, he said.
“From time to time, I’ve described him as a, a good NBA golfer. But JR is a good player,” Watkins said. “He has some tools that will enable him to be a good college player. No. 1 is his length. He hits the ball a long way and he has more than sufficient distance to play any golf course that we will play comfortably. I’ve got a couple of guys on my team that are good players, my No. 1 and No. 2 players, Diego Gonzalez and Xavier Williams. And both of those guys are significantly long. And JR has the same type of length, the same type of distance that those two guys have. So, he can shorten up a golf course and that just simply makes golf courses easier to play.”
Smith’s play will bring a lot of attention to A&T’s golf program. “Until this year, no one even knew we really had a golf team,” Carr said. “I would be walking around with a golf T-shirt, and people be like, ‘Oh, you play volleyball?’
“It happens all the time. So, to have more media, more coverage and people knowing about it, even though it can be nerve-wracking, it is still so important for the game of golf and for A&T’s program,” she said.
The first competition for the Aggies men’s golf team will be the Black College Golf Coaches Association Invitational in Newnan, Georgia, Sept. 24-25, followed by three other fall tournaments. They resume play in March.
The women open in the Elon Phoenix Invitational Sept. 19-21 and will play a fall and spring schedule.
Multiple entities, including The Honey Bear Project, Jacobson Foundation and Kanawha County Commission have all come together to see through $2 million in renovations at West Virginia State University. Learn about the plans for new bleachers, artificial turf, and more at WVSU in the official release below.
Construction will begin later this spring on the new Gregory V. Monroe Athletic Complex at West Virginia State University. The new, two-story building will contain 15,691 square feet of space, including meeting rooms, a weight room, training room and a locker room. Artist’s Rendering Courtesy of West Virginia State University
West Virginia State University (WVSU) has announced nearly $2 million in upgrades to its football stadium that will include installation of an artificial turf field, lights and new bleachers.
The announcement was made today during a ceremony on the field that featured NFL Hall of Fame player Willie Lanier, whose non-profit Honey Bear Project has pledged $1.28 million for artificial turf for the field through its HBCU Field of Dreams program.
“This is a special day for our university, our student-athletes and our fans,” said WVSU Athletic Director Nate Burton. “The project will not only enhance the ability of our teams to recruit exceptional student-athletes from across the country, but it will enhance the ability of our current student-athletes to prepare, train, and compete for championships. We are extremely grateful for the generous support from the Honey Bear Project, the Jacobson Foundation, and the Kanawha County Commission.”
Credit: West Virginia State University
Lanier’s Honey Bear Project, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, was created to upgrade athletic facilities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The goal of the Honey Bear Project is to raise $50 million over the next three years with minimal to no cost to the participating schools, and to bring HBCUs’ athletic facilities up to a competitive level by providing new turf football fields to programs playing on grass and resurfacing existing fields that are outdated and in need of repair and upgrade. WVSU is the fifth school to receive funding through the Field of Dreams program.
Also announced Tuesday was a $250,000 matching challenge gift for lighting and new bleachers from The Bernard H. and Blanche E. Jacobson Foundation, a local foundation with the goal of contributing to the quality of life for citizens in the state of West Virginia, and particularly in the Kanawha Valley.
John Ray, the grandson of James Lakin for whom the football field is named, has been active in philanthropic support for both the university and the Jacobson Foundation. In recognition of Ray’s contributions to his family legacy of leadership and support, WVSU will rename its football field Lakin-Ray Field.
The Kanawha County Commission also pledged $150,000 toward the installation of lights at Lakin-Ray Field. Once all of the upgrades are completed, WVSU athletics will partner with the nearby Shawnee Sports Complex in hosting football and soccer tournaments.
Installation of the artificial turf is expected to be completed by WVSU’s Homecoming in mid-October. The Yellow Jackets football team is set to play UNC-Pembroke in the Homecoming football game on Saturday, October 16, at 1:30 p.m.
Lighting will begin to be installed next month and is planned to be operational before the conclusion of the fall 2021 sports season.
Pete Richardson is a big name at Southern University, having earned the university’s second most wins as a coach (134-62) after Mumford (180-60-13). Now, a football field is being named after him! Learn more about the man that is said to have revived the tradition of Jaguar football in the WWL News article by Raeven Poole below.
The Southern Board of Supervisors voted Friday to rename the field at A.W. Mumford Stadium after former football coach Pete Richardson, according to our partners at The Advocate.
Credit: The Advocate
Pete Richardson, the university’s second-winningest coach (134-62) after Mumford (180-60-13), is said to have revived the tradition of Jaguar football.
The article states that Richardson coached the Jaguars from 1993 to 2009 and holds four Black College National Championships, five Southwestern Athletic Conference titles, is a five-time SWAC coach of the year and has won multiple national Coach of the Year honors.
“He’s one of our most celebrated legends,” Southern athletic director Roman Banks said. “He was the one to awaken Jaguar Nation and lead us to national championships. Coach Mumford set the standard for football here and Pete Richardson re-birthed that standard. It’s only fitting for those two power personalities — they were similar in personality — to take their rightful place together.”
Richardson, a former defensive back for the Buffalo Bills from 1969-1971, began coaching at Southern after four seasons at Winston-Salem State, immediately winning a conference championship and national title in 1993 also winning in 1995, 1997 and 2003, said The Advocate.
Credit: The Advocate
According to the article, the recommendation from Southern athletics director Roman Banks came a year ago but due to COVID-19, the action was delayed.
A ceremony to officially dedicate the field will be held September 11 at Southern’s first home game against Miles College for the annual Pete Richardson Classic, where he will also start his first full season as a color analyst on the Jaguar radio broadcast.R
After forgiving about $800,000 in outstanding debts for recent graduates due to COVID-19 hardships in May, Delaware State University has decided to have another round of debt relief. Learn why 1,100 additional students are benefitting in the DSU officialrelease below.
New Round of Del State Debt Reduction Benefits 1,100 Students
Delaware State University today announced a second round of funds available for debt relief for more than 1,100 qualified students. The availability of $2.9 million was made possible by the CARES Act and can be used for a range of hardships caused by COVID-19, including tuition and housing expenses since the pandemic began in Spring 2020.
Students who are Pell Grant eligible will receive $2,500; students who are not Pell eligible will receive $1,000. Pell Grants are awarded to students with “exceptional financial need.” Nearly half of Delaware State University students meet Pell Grant eligibility criteria.
“What we most want students and their parents to understand about this round of funding is the significance of this opportunity,” said Antonio Boyle, Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Management. “This funding allows students to work through a range of needs related to their education, the most significant of which is the ability to wipe out several thousand dollars in debt at one keystroke.”
This round of debt relief is not a one-time event, President Tony Allen emphasized. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve recognized our responsibility to make it possible for our students to keep moving toward graduation despite the tuition costs, housing, food, and tech insecurities that COVID-19 put in their way. With the constant advocacy of our Congressional delegation, the strong support of our corporate partners, and the unprecedented outpouring of giving from our alumni, we’ve been able to keep pace with their needs.”
Between March-June 2020, the University raised over $1.6 MM in private funding for a University-sponsored Student Emergency Relief Fund. That fund provided instant support for students faced with an unanticipated move off campus. The University distributed over $200,000 worth of laptops, tablets, and portable WiFi devices to students with device and connectivity needs while working from home during the same period.
The University provided an additional $3.3 MM in direct financial support to students throughout 2020. And in May 2021, Delaware State University became the first Historically Black College or University in the nation to make $735,000 available to clear the debts of 225 graduating seniors. This action sparked a nationwide round of HBCU debt cancellation, reaching tens of thousands of students at more than 20 other institutions.
A recent Brookings Institution study revealed that not only is student debt the primary cause of Black students not finishing college but that those debts are also “delaying or even preventing Black Americans from building wealth.”
Anas Ben Addi, the University’s Chief Financial Officer, pointed out that “Bridging the gap of a few thousand dollars, or sometimes as little as a few hundred, can be decisive in terms of keeping these young people in school and on track to graduate. Finding ways to do that is integral to the HBCU mission of enhancing social mobility.”
In total, the University has invested nearly $8.5 million in supporting students through the pandemic. “We aren’t finished yet,” Allen said. “As we continue to be supported by the Administration and Congress, we will revisit the debt needs of our students, and we will be emphasizing to them and their families that managing these debts is critical to their ultimate success in achieving their dreams.”
Stressing that the next move belongs to students and their families, Boyle said, “What happens now is that students have to open that email, agree to accept the money, and check the box permitting us to apply it to their outstanding debts. From that point, the process is essentially automatic, but they have to act.”
Tysun Hicks, a senior accounting major from Lincoln, Del., said he appreciates how the University has made it possible for him to focus his attention on completing his degree while having less stress over student debt issues.
“I know a lot of other students feel the same way I do,” Mr. Hicks said. “It’s great to know that our University has our back.”
